Greatest Video Game Villains That Are Sure To Go Down In History

Protagonists in most video games are the central focus of attention for aspiring players. The cooler the hero, the better it’ll settle in with the person on the other side of the screen, but what about the character standing in the way of our beloved champion? Why doesn’t he get off any easier?

In all fairness, the gaming industry has given rise to some of the best-written villains in the entertainment space as a whole, featuring cultivated personality and a performance coming from diverse talent that makes the game you’re playing even more worth it. I’ve put together this article to highlight the bad guys this time around.

No matter what they did in-game that paint their character outright horrible, you’ve got to pay heed to their work in terms of what they bring to the table. 

No One Did It Better As Compared To These Menaces 

I have to say: The entries outlined ahead reflect a personal opinion and are not to be taken definitively. In case you have suggestions for the piece, head down to the comments section and tell me all about them there. 

1. GladOS From Portal

Starting off the list is the ever-threatening GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) from the Portal franchise, serving as the first game’s major villain, while turning good in the second iteration. GLaDOS’ iconic dry humor and amusing sarcasm make her stand out right from the get-go, not that Portal is cluttered with too many characters anyway, so to speak.

She’s a fairly fun character with her quips and antics, though menacing by every stretch of the imagination. Being an AI machine at its core, GLaDOS’ voice lines can really set you back at times, such as, 

Well done. Here come the test results: You are a horrible person. I’m serious, that’s what it says: A horrible person. We weren’t even testing for that.”

2. Andrew Ryan From BioShock

Easily the biggest hypocrite in the entirety of Rapture, Andrew Ryan is the primary antagonist of the first BioShock game, although he’s featured in other forms in the rest of the BioShock titles as well. Although he’s not really the primary antagonist of BioShock, because that’s someone far more nefarious, Ryan has to have a spot on this list because of his influence, ideology, the execution of his childhood dreams, and his sheer monopoly on the underwater city. 

3. Gaunter O’Dimm From The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is just flat-out stellar at the base, but CD Projekt Red in an attempt to turn things up even more dramatically quality-wise went on to release two DLC expansions for the RPG in the name of Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine. In the former, you find Gaunter O’Dimm as the main antagonist, and surprisingly, he appears in the base game too. At the time, however, he seems fairly mediocre. 

It’s only in the DLC though that Gaunter’s true intentions come forward. Long story short, this person is a potent demon, known for an array of powerful abilities, all of which are put to the wrong use. When Geralt finds himself intertwined in a quest, particularly Whatsoever a Man Soweth, he goes toe-to-toe with Gaunter’s antics, and let me tell you this: The villain at hand has you going like, 

Yep, I don’t want any of this.” 

4. Vas From Far Cry 3

Continuing the notion of “top 5 guys you don’t want to mess with” is Vas from Far Cry 3, which is simply one of the best Far Cry games ever made. Being a follower of the industry, I’m sure you didn’t let the following quote slip by when it first surfaced, going on to accumulate widespread fame while making rounds on the internet in other mediums as well. 

Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? Insanity is doing the exact… same f**king thing… over and over again expecting… sh*t to change… That. Is. Crazy. The first time somebody told me that, I dunno, I thought they were bullsh*tting me, so, I shot him. The thing is… He was right. And then I started seeing, everywhere I looked, everywhere I looked all these f**king pricks, everywhere I looked, doing the exact same f**king thing… over and over and over and over again thinking ‘this time is gonna be different.” 

5. Ted Faro From Horizon Zero Dawn

I mean, you have to be a tremendously hated villain if people in real life have to make a community on a huge social media platform revolving around calling you out and bashing you for your fictional, virtual actions, don’t you? That’s the case with Ted Faro, the founder and owner of Faro Automated Solutions in Horizon Zero Dawn, but basically the person responsible for the extinction of all mankind. 

Yeah, he’s not really loved around those parts. And according to the game’s lore, which I’m sure you’ll be fairly surprised to hear about, Ted was actually the messiah of the Horizon world thanks to the tech he developed, but tell you what? That just wasn’t good enough for the insufferable arsehat. Nevertheless, he’s right up there with the top dogs, because, well, he’s done a fine job at making people hate him to death.